Maid for the Millionaire (13 page)

The group broke into a quiet round of applause and after a reasonable time Ayleen raised her hand to stop them.

“I'd also like to thank Liz Harper for all of her hard work, not just on this ball but also for the group on a daily basis.”

The crowd applauded again.

When they were through, Ayleen said, “And special thanks to Cain Nestor. He's been renovating the houses. Donating both his time and the materials to make the homes of our women some of the prettiest houses in their neighborhoods.”

The crowd erupted in spontaneous, thunderous applause, and Liz felt such a stirring of pride for Cain, tears came to her eyes. He never saw what a wonderful person he was. But she did. And she'd made another huge mistake with him. She should have told him about their baby sooner.

Lost in her thoughts, she wasn't prepared when Ayleen caught her hand and pulled her forward, toward the microphone again.

“What most of you don't know though is that Liz has been helping Cain. At first she acted as A Friend Indeed's liaison, but then she picked up a paintbrush and threw herself into the work, too. Cain and Liz are an unbeatable team.”

She hugged Liz in thanks then turned away, scanning the room. “Cain? Where are you? How about if you and Liz get the next set of the dancing started, so everyone can see who you are?”

Liz's mouth fell open in dismay. Ayleen had probably
noticed Cain hadn't even spoken to her and was playing matchmaker. She didn't know Cain was upset about their child and he didn't want to talk with her. Liz had only figured it out herself. But there was nothing she could do to get out of this without embarrassing herself or Cain.

With her heart hammering in her chest, Liz looked down off the makeshift stage and searched the crowd for Cain. She found him in the back in a corner, watching her. Their gazes locked. She waited for him to look away. He didn't. She told herself to look away and couldn't. He walked out of the crowd to her.

 

Cain swallowed the last of the champagne in his glass and dropped it on the tray of a passing waiter. He wouldn't embarrass Liz by publicly refusing to dance with her. But he also knew this was as good of a time as any to get their relationship on track. She didn't want a second chance with him. He didn't deserve one. But they both worked for A Friend Indeed. So they had to spend time together. They couldn't ignore each other forever.

The whole room stilled as he and Liz met in the center of the dance floor. He pulled her into his arms, and the band began to play a waltz. Forcing himself to focus on the music, he tried to ignore her sweet scent, but it swirled around them like the notes of the song, tempting him. Especially when she melted against him. Not in surrender, but in acknowledgment. They would always have chemistry. But sometimes that wasn't enough.

He
wasn't enough. She was worthy of someone much, much better.

The music vibrated around them as other dancers
eased onto the floor. In minutes they were surrounded by a happy crowd. Not the center of attention, anymore. Not even on anyone's radar. He could slip away.

Just as he was ready to excuse himself and end the dance, she pulled back. Her shiny green eyes searched his.

“Are you okay?”

“I'm fine.” He said the words casually then twirled her around to emphasize his lightness. He'd never make her feel responsible for him again.

She pulled back again. “But you're angry with me.”

He laughed. “No, Liz. If there's one thing I'm not, it's angry with you.”

“You have every right to be. I should have told you about our baby sooner.”

The hurt in her voice skipped across his nerves like shards of glass. As if it wasn't bad enough he had to walk away from her, she was taking it all wrong.

“And I'm sorry. I'm very, very sorry.”

He nearly squeezed his eyes shut in misery. He was the one who hadn't been there for her. Yet she was apologizing to him?

He stopped dancing, tugged his hand away from hers. “Stop.”

“No. You told me on Monday night that you wanted to start over. I think we could—”

Other dancers nearly bumped into them. He caught her by the waist and hauled her against him, spinning them into the crowd again. “Don't say it,” he said, nearly breathless from her nearness. They couldn't go on like this. And he'd made it worse by mentioning starting over before he knew just how bad he'd been as a husband. Now, in her innate fairness, or maybe be
cause she was so kind, she was willing to try again. But he couldn't do that to her.

And if the only way to get her away from him, off the notion that somehow they belonged together, was to hurt her, then maybe one final hurt added to his long list of sins wouldn't matter.

“I made a mistake the other night when I mentioned reconciling. I was a lousy husband. You never should have married me. It's time we moved on. Time we let go. Time
you
let go.”

With that he released her. The horrified expression on her face cut to his heart, but he ignored it, turned and walked off the dance floor. Letting her go was for the best. Even if it did break his heart.

 

Stunned, Liz turned and scanned the great room, until she found Ellie. She raced over. “I have to go.”

Ellie's face fell. “What?”

“I'm sorry,” she said, pulling Ellie with her as she ran through the foyer to the front door. “Everything's done, except the final goodbye and thank-you. Ayleen has already done the official thank-you. All you need to say is thank you and good night. Can you do that?”

Ellie said, “Sure, but—”

Liz didn't give her the chance to finish. She raced out the door and down the stone steps. The tinkling of the fountains followed her and the silver moon lit the way as she raced down the driveway to her car. The only thing missing from the scene was a pair of glass slippers.

Because like Cinderella, she'd lost her prince.

Again.

The old Cain was back. And the worst of it was Liz
had brought him back. He'd pretended to take the news of their baby well, but the truth was he'd tumbled back into the horrible place where he'd lived the three years of their marriage. There had been no help for it. She couldn't have entered into a relationship with a secret hanging over them.

But she'd hurt him. More this time than she had by walking away from their marriage without a word.

He'd never forgive her.

She'd never forgive herself.

Balling up the skirt of her gown, she slid into her car and a horrible thought struck her. They had to work together in the morning. After the way he'd rejected her, dismissed her, she had to go to Fran's house in the morning and pretend nothing had happened.

T
HE NEXT MORNING
,
Cain nearly called Ayleen and begged off his work on Fran's house. He hadn't wanted to hurt Liz, but he'd had to to force her to get on with her life. So he didn't really want to spend eight hours with her, seeing her hurt, knowing he'd hurt her and knowing he really would spend the rest of his days without the one woman he wanted in his life. All because he could never see her needs. She might be right for him, but he most certainly wasn't right for her and he had to let her go.

But in the end he conceded that bailing on Fran's house wasn't the thing to do. He had made a commitment to A Friend Indeed. Fran shouldn't have to wait for her house to be finished because he and Liz shouldn't be working together.

He rolled his truck to a stop in front of Fran's garage but didn't immediately open his truck door. Stuck in his thoughts, he stared at the empty space beside his truck.

“She'll be here,” Billy said, undoubtedly assuming Cain was wondering where Liz was. “She never lets anybody down. Just ask my mom.”

The kid's voice held the oddest note of both trust in
Liz and scorn. It might have been simple teenage angst or it could have been that something had happened that morning to make him angry. Cain couldn't tell. Sooner or later, he'd get it out of him, but right now Cain's mind was still on Liz. About how his next step would have to be getting her off his work crew.

He shoved his truck door open and jumped out just as her little green car chugged into the driveway. He rushed back to his truck bed and immediately reached for the cooler and picnic basket. Intense and primal, the desire rose in him to get away before the need to talk to her, to touch her, became a hungry beast he couldn't control. He would have done anything, given anything, if there would have been a way they could start over, but they couldn't. He wouldn't do that to her. He would not ruin her life a second time.

Stepping out of her car, Liz saw the picnic basket and smiled shakily. “You brought lunch again.”

He almost groaned. Even sweet Liz shouldn't be able to forgive him for how he'd rejected her the night before. Yet, here she was trying to get along, giving him the damned benefit of the doubt.

“Yes. I brought lunch.” He turned away, taking the cooler and stowing it in the garage before he hauled the picnic basket into the kitchen.

Following him, she said, “What are we doing today?”

“We're finishing the carpet in the bedrooms.” And it wasn't a three-person job. He and Billy had handled it alone the day before. This was his out, his way to save her, his way to save himself from the misery of being within arm's distance of the woman he'd always loved, but never deserved.

He faced her. “This is actually a two-person job. Billy and I can handle it. I know you're probably tired from all the work you did for the ball yesterday.” Casually, as if nothing were wrong, he leaned against the counter. “So why don't you go on home?”

She took a step back. “You want me to leave?”

“Yes.” The wounded look in her eyes made him long to tell her he was sorry that he hadn't been there for her. To tell her how much he wished he could make all his misdeeds up to her. To tell her he wished there was a way they didn't have to give up on their relationship.

But he couldn't do that. The only honorable thing for him to do would be to sacrifice his own needs, so that she'd find someone who really would love her.

She stared at him, as if waiting for him to change his mind. As the clock above the sink ticked off the seconds, her eyes filled with tears. Without a word, she turned and raced out the door before Cain could even say goodbye.

Billy shook his head in wonder. “Are you nuts?”

Before he could stop himself, Cain said, “Trust me. This is for her own good.”

It might have been for her good, but the sadness that shivered through him told Cain that he wouldn't ever get over this. Forcing her to find a better man was the best thing for her, but it was the worst that could happen to him.

 

In her office that morning and afternoon, Liz kept herself so busy catching up on the work she'd ignored while she worked on the ball that she didn't have time to think about Cain.

She knew telling him about their lost baby had
caused him to close himself off. But this time he didn't seem to be closing himself off from the world. Only from her.

She refused to let herself think about any of it, and instead worked diligently in her office until it was dark. Then she walked to her car, head high, breaths deep and strong. She'd lost him twice now. But this time she'd lost him honestly. She'd lost him because she wouldn't start a relationship while hiding a secret. She'd done the right thing. She'd simply gotten the wrong result.

And now she would deal with it.

In her condo, she tossed her keys to the table by the door and reached for the hem of her T-shirt as she walked back to the shower. She might have lost him honestly but she'd still lost him, and it hurt so much even the soothing spray of her shower didn't help. She'd lost Cain's love, the affection she craved from him, but more than that she would have to live with the knowledge that he would torment himself for the rest of his life.

She knew he was a good man. If only he could forgive himself and live life in the now, he could be free. But he couldn't, not even for her. Not even for
them
.

After her shower, she wrapped herself in a robe and headed out to the kitchen to make herself some cocoa. She reached into the cupboard for a mug just as her cell phone rang. For the second time in as many weeks, she wished she could ignore it. She wanted to weep, not for herself but for Cain. For as much as it hurt her to lose him, she knew he suffered the torment of the damned. He'd never be happy.

But as an integral part of a charity that didn't sleep, she couldn't ignore any call. She reached over and
picked up her phone. Seeing that the caller was Amanda, she said, “Hey, Amanda. What's up?”

“Liz! Liz! Billy is gone!”

“What do you mean gone?”

“We had a fight this morning that we didn't get to finish because Cain came to get him for work. When he got home this afternoon he tried to act as if nothing happened, but I picked up right where we left off.” Amanda burst into tears. “I'm so sorry. I was so stupid. But I'm so afraid he'll turn out like his dad that I go overboard. And now he's gone. He just walked out, slamming the door. Before I could go after him he was gone. I didn't even see if he turned right or left. It was like he disappeared.” She took a shuddering breath. “I've looked everywhere I know to look. He's nowhere.”

Liz's own breath stuttered in her chest. Fear for Billy overwhelmed her. “Don't worry. We'll find him.”

“How? I've looked everywhere. And it's too soon to call the police. They make you wait twenty-four hours.” She made a gurgling sound in her throat. “By the time twenty-four hours pass, anything could happen!”

“Okay, I'm calling Cain—” She made the offer without thinking. Even Amanda was surprised.

“Cain?”

“They talk a lot as they're working, Amanda. There's a good chance he'll know where Billy is.”

Amanda breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay.”

But Liz's breath froze when she realized what she'd done. Now she had to call Cain. “You sit tight. I'll call you back as soon as I talk to him.”

“Okay.”

Liz clicked off and immediately dialed Cain's cell
phone. She wouldn't let herself think about the fact that he hated her now. Wouldn't let herself consider that he might ignore her plea for help.

“Liz?”

Relieved that he'd answered, Liz leaned against her counter and said simply, “Billy's gone.”

“Gone?”

“He had a fight with Amanda. She says she knows she pushed a bit too hard, and he flew out of the house and was gone before she could even see what direction he ran in.”

A few seconds passed in silence before Cain said, “Look, Liz, I'm going to be honest. I think I know where Billy is, but you can't come with me.”

“Like hell I can't!” He might have been able to kick her off the job site that morning, but Billy was her responsibility, and she wasn't letting Cain push her out of finding him.

“I think he's gone to his father's. If he has, this could be dangerous.”

“I get that. But I'm trained for this!
You
aren't. If either one of us goes, it should be me.”

There was a long pause. Finally Cain blew his breath out on a sigh. “I can't let you go alone, so we have to go together. Be ready when I get to your apartment.” He stopped. “Where is your apartment?”

She gave him the address and, as he clicked off, she raced into her bedroom and pulled on jeans and a tank top. By the time he arrived in front of her building, she was already on the sidewalk.

She jumped into his Porsche and he raced away. The humid Miami air swirled around her as they roared down the street. With Cain's attention on driving, Liz
glanced around at the car she'd loved when they were married. Memories of driving down this very highway in this very car, six years ago, before all their troubles, assailed her. They were so sweet and so poignant that part of her longed to pretend that everything was okay between them.

But that was their biggest problem. When things weren't working out, they'd tried to pretend they were. She was done with that and Cain was, too. She had to accept that they were over.

 

Cain tried not to think about Liz sitting next to him as he drove to Billy's old house, the house he and Amanda had lived in with an abusive father. He prayed that Billy hadn't been so angry with his mom that he told his father the location of their safe house. If they didn't get to Billy on time, Billy's dad could be on his way to Amanda's before they could warn her.

He pressed his gas pedal to the floor. Billy's dad lived far enough away that Billy would have had to take a bus. Cain didn't know the schedule, but he prayed Billy hadn't been lucky enough to walk out onto the street and hop on a bus. If he'd had to wait that bought him and Liz time to get to him. So there was still hope. Slim hope. But hope.

Nearing Billy's old neighborhood, Cain also prayed that if Billy had made it to his dad's and had had the gumption to refuse to tell his dad where his mom and sister were that his dad hadn't taken his fists to him.

A sick feeling rose up in him. There were too many ways this night could end badly.

Because he didn't have an exact address, Cain
slowed his car. When he did, he heard Liz suck in a breath.

He automatically reached for her hand. “Don't worry. We'll do this.”

The feeling of her hand in his brought an ache to his chest. He knew he shouldn't have touched her. But she looked so sad and he was so scared that it came automatically to him. She smiled at him across the console and his heart constricted. He'd give anything to deserve the trust she had in him.

He glanced away, at the area around them.

“Billy talked about a bar that was two buildings down from his house and going to the convenience store across the street.” Cain let his Porsche roll along slowly as he and Liz scanned the area.

“There's the bar,” Liz shouted, pointing. “And the convenience store.”

“And Billy,” Cain said, pointing at the kid sitting on the curb in front of a little blue house.

He found a parking space, and they pushed their way out of the car and raced up to Billy.

“Hey, Liz.” Billy's eyes roved from Liz to Cain. “Hey, Cain.”

“Hey.” The kid's mood was sad more than upset, so Cain took a cue from him. Not caring about his gray trousers, he casually sat on the curb beside Billy. Liz sat on the other side. “Your mom is worried.”

He snorted a laugh. “My mom is always worried.”

“Looks like she's got good reason this time,” Liz said, turning and gesturing at the house behind them. “Is that your old place?”

Billy nodded.

“Dad not home?”

“He might be. I don't know.”

Cain sat back, letting Liz take the lead in the conversation. She was the one who had been trained for this.

“You didn't go in?”

“I sorta feel like I'm doing that cutting off my nose to spite my face thing my mom talks about.”

Cain chuckled and Liz out-and-out laughed. He could hear the relief in her voice. He felt it, too. Billy had run, but he couldn't take the final steps. He probably liked his new life. Even if his old life sometimes seemed like a way out of his troubles, he really didn't want to go back.

“Yeah. That's probably accurate.” She waited a few seconds then said, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Billy shrugged. “Same old stuff.”

“I'm not familiar with the stuff, so you'll have to fill me in.”

“She's afraid of everything.”

Liz's eyebrows rose. “She has good reason, Billy.”

“I'm not my dad and I'm tired of paying for his mistakes.”

Cain got a sudden inspiration and before Liz could reply, he said, “How does she make you pay?”

“She yells at me. I have a curfew.”

“That's not paying for your dad's mistakes, Billy. That's her guiding you, looking out for your welfare, being a mom.”

Billy looked at him sharply. “No one else I know has a curfew.”

“Maybe that's why half your friends are in trouble.” Cain sighed and shifted on the curb, glancing at Liz who only gave him a look with her eyes that encouraged him to continue.

“Look, trust isn't handed out like hall passes in school. You have to earn it.”

Unexpectedly, he thought of Liz, of all the ways he'd failed her and yet she trusted him. She trusted him when he didn't trust himself. Liz had always believed in him. Even when he let her down, she believed he'd do the right thing the next time.